Long-ish, but an interesting problem...

So I've had my SRT-6 for just about 3 days and I'm loving it. My drive into work along some windy back roads this morning was a blast. Heading out to grab something for lunch provided a little merging fun. Then, when leaving my office at around 7:10pm, the last one to depart, I go out to the parking lot and try to open my Crossfire with the key fob. Nothing... I click Lock...Unlock...hold in the Panic button...Nothing...

OK, try the key. Door unlocks fine, I open it and BAM! The single most irritating noise I have ever heard in my life...the alarm. I put the key in the ignition and turn it (thinking that alone should probably deactivate the system), it sparks the starter, and...Nothing... The key won't even go back to the right to attempt another start unless I remove the key and try again...a sign of an Ignition Kill system at work.

I also noticed that the lights were still blinking for a good while, 3 minutes or so. In addition, all of the power items worked, so there was no dead battery. I did notice, however, that the red light on the "Tow Alarm" button was consistently blinking. I followed the instructions from the manual to turn it off, but all that kept happening was that the alarm kept going off. Every power feature worked except for the locks (would lock, but not unlock), and the tow setting just kept blinking throughout.

Pulling the fuse for the alarm system, ironically, triggers the alarm system on a loop...word to the wise and lesson learned.

Another thing I learned tonight is that the alarm system apparently has an independent power source. Oh, and it may actually be the most irritating noise in existence.

Here's where I got some fortunate advice from searching through these very forums; after trying to reprogram the key fob, letting it sit and rearm the alarm, pulling the fuse, and checking the battery in the key fob (appeared functional, lights blinking, but no replacements available), all suggestions I read on this forum for various maladies, I saw a suggestion to disconnect and reconnect the battery. Alas, I had no tools to do so, but it is an excellent idea, since that would possibly reset any sensors that have gone batty.

So I had to wait for the Flatbed, which, to the Credit of CarSense and particularly one of their Internet Sales Reps named Mike Keyser, had a loaner car strapped to the back of it. Even though I am very disappointed in the issue, I am impressed with the way this was handled. I called Mike toward the end of the day with my situation and not only did he have a mechanic try to troubleshoot with me over the phone, he arranged for the flatbed and loaner, delivered, at no cost to me. The loaner was a wine red Ford Escape Limited 4WD. It's no Crossfire, but it could be worse. Multiple friends of mine had good experiences and recommended CarSense, I can see why.

The end result is that the battery disconnection, while setting off the alarm for an earsplitting encore, did reset whatever was wrong. All of the sudden the key fob worked, the tow light was no longer flashing red, and the car started up. I was soooo tempted to just drive it home because I really don't want to be without it, but the smart thing to do is let their mechanics take a gander so I took the loaner and they took my baby.

I don't know if they'll find anything though since the battery reset likely cleared the issue. So does anyone know what this could be? It sound like the kind of thing that happens when the key fob is dead, but it worked, even from a 60ft distance after the battery reset on the car. The system that engages the alarm and kills the ignition is the likely culprit, but what part of it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you all for the accumulated knowledge that provided me with a lot of solid insight into the workings of this technological beast. It's always a pain when something that is supposed to be a feature ends up biting you in the rear wing.

My enthusiasm is not dampened, though, this thing is simply too fun to drive )


Note to self: buy a wrench for the car capable of removing the battery contacts in case HAL decides to go haywire again and needs a reset.